Molavy or Rumi lived about 700 years ago (1300) and is considered as one of most expert and famous Iranian poets. He wrote several poem book and one of them is the collection of interesting and wonderful stories, guidance, advises and theology in case of poems. His origin poems is very regular and rhythmic in Persian language but sadly when they are translated to English they seems like prose. His books have been translated to some other languages among English. In total he was a great philosopher, mystic ant poet and I can't explain about him professional but if you are interested to know more you can refer to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi This is a part of his poem that I found there: I died as a mineral and became a plant, I died as plant and rose to animal, I died as animal and I was Man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying? Yet once more I shall die as Man, to soar With angels bless'd; but even from angelhood I must pass on: all except God doth perish. When I have sacrificed my angel-soul, I shall become what no mind e'er conceived. Oh, let me not exist! for Non-existence Proclaims in organ tones, To Him we shall return. And this is the story (in case of a poem) that I chose from his greatest book and translated it to English. I hope I have done it correctly: ; Somebody went to a tattooist And told him to make a tattoo on his body artistically! The tattooist asked, which figure you like I tattoo on your body? The guy replied, the figure of a ferocious lion! My lucky star is lion, So I wish, my star is tattooed on my body The coldblooded tattooist asked: In which part of your body I tattoo? The man said, tattoo it on my shoulders! As the tattooist began needling, The pain was begun in the man’s shoulder. The champion asked moaning: You are killing me! Which figure you are tattooing?! The tattooist replied, the same lion that you requested! The man asked, from which point of the lion you started? The tattooist said, from its tail. “Give up its tail!” the man said. Tattooist wondered and asked:” why?” The man said, because its tail caught my breathing! So tattoo a lion without tail please, because my soul is in trouble due to the needle wound! The tattooist began tattooing from another point of the figure, without any observance or pity! The man shouted again: What is this part of the lion that sounds so painful?! “It is its ear” said tattooist. The man said, please ignore its ears. I think a lion can be found without ears! The tattooist began from another part, and the guy complained again and said, Which organ of the lion is this third part?! “This is its abdomen, dear friend!” said tattooist. The guy protested painfully, it doesn’t need abdomen! Please start from another point. The tattooist stayed amazed and astonished! He dropped the needle on the floor and said angrily, Have you seen such uncompleted lion?! Who has seen a lion without tail, head and abdomen?! God how created such lion in the world?! My brother, be patient against pain of lancet. So that get rid the bite of your ungodly ego As you can’t tolerate the pain of needling Go and don’t brag about tattooing the ferocious lion! Everybody that his ungodly ego dead in his body, The sun, moon, sea and clouds, would obey him! When his heart learned igniting candle He will not be worried of the night darkness Thistle becomes soft and graceful as flower, for the ingredient that travel to the total What is the respect to God? Being humble and earthy against him! What is learning the practical theism? Being eliminated against the unique! If you want to be shiny like a day, Eliminate your own gloomy existence Your existence in the existence of the creator, is like the copper in the alchemy lab! You have grasped in “I” and “we” issues severely The all problems are from these two beings!
I have his book and before I spend my time with computer I studied it time to time. The book has many such as stories which after every story in case of poem as an example, he expertly brings up a series of wonderful mystic philosophy, theosophy, guidance, moral edification, gnostic doctrines and so on. He points to the low knowledge and information of man to God and realities and some other mentally and cognitive mistakes of persons in this cases in an interesting way, by the masterly and artistic story- poems. However, I will try to translate some other of his story-poems and will send them to writing forums soon
Hey Mans, nice to see you're still around. I have a copy of Rumi's poems. I think some of the poems are taken from the Masnavi, whereas others are just individual poems he wrote. He's a great poet, and I wish more people in the West spent time reading him. Translating works from languages like Persian is tough because it is impossible to keep the original meter, rhyme scheme, etc. Based on my copy, I think the translator did a good job, though I can't really compare it since I don't know Persian. However, Rumi's philosophy and way of thinking still comes across in the translation, which is great.
Thank you, thirdwind As you pointed (classic)Persian poems have an accurate equal balance and rhythm between every two their lines. The rhythms that are used in the poems have various fixed patterns, and every poet chose a pattern for one of his poem. The patterns are based on the accurate rhythms, as every patterns can be followed by a kind of rhythm of music, without the pattern has been made for such purpose. Although you are not familiar with Farsi ( Persian) language, but you can see the order, balance and rhythm of an Iranian poem in the following, visually: As you see every line is balanced with the second line, accurately, also the last words ( or the word before the last) in the left have a similarity in the last letter. This creates a precise rhythm in the poem. The poems of Molavi (Rumi), among the story that I translated to English are so as well. But as you said, when the classic Iranian poems are translated to another language, they lost their excellent rhythms and balance. Also it is necessary to be said, every new Iranian writer and poet is not able to write such as classic Persian poems, with the accurate rhythms, and also the mystic and deep meaning of contents. The number of the new poets that are able to compose such kind of poems is not many.
This fragment of his poem featured prominently in The Mars Trilogy, but until now I've never realized that there was more to the poem. Thanks for enlightening me!
